Welcome to September! Monthly Overviews for JH / GTNP .
Get a quick look at what you might expect to find with all 12 months side by side.
Daily Updates Archives:
2015: Sept: | Aug: | July: | June: | May: | Apr: | Mar: | Feb: | Jan:
2014: Dec: | Nov: | Oct: | Sept: | Aug: | July: | June: | May: | Apr: | Mar: | Feb: | Jan:
2013: Dec: | Nov: | Oct: | Sept: | Aug:
September 3, 2015 :
Custer in a Side Channel: I looked for moose all morning, including hiking a mile or so of the river bottom in two directions. Nothing! I gave up, figuring it just wasn’t my day. As I was driving home, I spotted this bull out of the corner of my eye.
Mountain Maple: I have been hearing the Mountain Maple are starting to turn in the Snake River Canyon towards Alpine Junction. We had soft, thin cloud cover this morning, so I make a quick trip down. A few of them are beginning to turn. Traditionally, the maples are bright red between the 15th of September and possibly up until October 2nd or so. Last year, many of them looked good when we went down to fish on September 7th. Check out September 2014: for more photos from down there.
September Foliage Reports Page: Coming Soon! Some areas seem well ahead of normal.
Area Tidbits:
- Tomorrow is the last Free Concert at Snow King ball field. Lucas Nelson is playing and I hear he’s really good.
- The Fort Bridger Mountain Man Rendezvous is underway at Fort Bridger, WY. It is the largest of the year in this region.
- I’ve driven by the barns along Mormon Row and haven’t seen much new progress lately.
- There is road construction near the Hoback Bridge and just north of Hoback Junction.
- Black Bears are still feeding along the Moose-Wilson Road. No reports yet of Grizzlies in the area.
- I’ve heard a few reports of Great Gray Owls being sighted again, including several reports of them around Munger Mountain.
- Don’t forget to check yesterday’s new Feature Post.: Antlers and Wyoming’s Shiras Moose –
One-On-One Excursions Openings: A few openings are available in September. Just ask! September 3-6 is available. September 8/9 recently opened up. The trips are designed to help people learn to use their DSLR cameras and help photographers find some of GTNP’s nice shooting locations. Click the link for more information. (Golden Era Studios / Mike R. Jackson is an Authorized Permittee of the National Park Service and the National Elk Refuge.)
September 2, 2015 :
New Feature Post: Antlers and Wyoming’s Shiras Moose – As I make this post, about half of the bulls have already stripped their velvet for the year. If you are lucky, you might get to see and photograph this important stage in the yearly rut cycle.
The Grand and Blacktail Butte: D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Custer in Sagebrush: The three Bulls I photographed on Monday stripped their antlers on Tuesday. Quite a few people got to photograph it and I would have liked to be one of them. Still, I was with the bull above on Tuesday as he did a river crossing. I added roughly 650 actuations on my venerable old D4 in the process. Can’t complain! D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
Today, I found this one and stayed with him until he bedded down in a cool, shady area. On the way home, I saw another one along the side of the Gros Ventre river with what appeared to be full velvet. It was close to 10:00 am as I drove by and he we still feeding in the warm sun. D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
September 1, 2015 :
Sleeping Indian: Taken from the hillside along the Gros Ventre Road. Lots of possibilities yet to be explored there! D800 and Nikon 70-200mm lens.
Clouds Above the Tetons: I saw this cloud developing over the Tetons, so I did a quick run to the barns for first light. D800 and Nikon 24-70mm lens.
Welcome to September!
This photo was taken on August 30th, 2015 along the Gros Ventre River. Based on a few clues like this one, it appears foliage is going to be early again this year. The 30°F morning we had about a week ago might have initiated the early changes in parts of the valley? During September, I plan on adding a JH Foliage Reports 2015 page to accompany this September Daily Updates and Photos page.
August was a banner month for me. If you missed it, check out August 2015 Daily Updates & Photos for Grand Teton National Park & JH: You can get a good idea of what the first part of September will look like. Also check out September 2014:
This photo at Oxbow Bend was taken on September 21st of last year. Typically (if there is such a thing), Oxbow peaks around October 2nd or 3rd. I haven’t been that far north in a while, but when I do, I’ll report on the status here. I don’t think many leaves will still be on the trees at Oxbow on October 1st this year either.
September Crossing: Bull Moose crossing the Gros Ventre in early morning light. D4 and Tamron 150-600mm lens.
If you like moose, be sure to look over the last half of August: August 2015 Daily Updates & Photos for Grand Teton National Park & JH:Beginning of the Month Loose Ends and Reports:
- FREE in Jackson Hole ~ Areas & Activities: Some of the Free activities end after Labor Day.
- The Fall Arts Festival will offer plenty of new activities and events.
- Wildlife is becoming very active. Moose are beginning to shed their velvet. Bison are still in the rut. Bears are looking for berries. Elk are beginning to bugle. Beavers, squirrels, and other small mammals are beginning to gather winter supplies of food.
- Smoke has mostly lifted or blown out. Lingering amounts have still been causing great sunrise and sunsets.
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